The First Date

As my father listed off his amorous misadventures, it became increasingly obvious that he was far from the expert he claimed to be. To spare you the secondhand embarrassment I endured, I shall not repeat his stories, but suffice to say, it was nothing short of a miracle that my mother agreed to marry him.

My servants were only of modest help. According to them, Chika wanted to be escorted to a play, and afterwards, treated to a meal at a private table, but not in a private residence. The play was the easy part—A popular troupe was performing in the city—But the meal was difficult. Where, exactly, did she want to dine, if not at a house? There were communal kitchens, but they had no private tables, and the city’s taverns were no place for a woman, or, come to think of it, members of the nobility, like myself.

Ultimately, I decided to rent out a storehouse across from a communal kitchen for the day. It was expensive, but perhaps she wanted me to demonstrate my wealth in order to win her over.

After inviting her to the play, we agreed to meet in the central plaza shortly before the show began. However, as I was preparing in the morning, my servant informed me that it was apparently important that I reach the plaza inconveniently early, but when Chika came at the agreed-upon time, to pretend I had arrived just ahead of her.

While waiting in the plaza, my courting helmet drew a lot of attention, and more than a few snickers, from passersby. It was an ostentatious thing, less a helmet than a cloth skull cap adorned with sparkling beads. The shape was odd as well, with two points, one on each side of my head.

“Thelian,” Chika’s voice made me turn my head in her direction. She was jogging across the plaza in brightly-colored pastel robes. “Sorry I’m late. Were you waiting long?”

She was hunched over, bracing herself with her hands on her knees to catch her breath, looking at the ground.

“You’re not late. I just got here myself.”

Giving what looked like a satisfied nod, she straightened up. There was a warm smile on her face, but as soon as she set her eyes on my helmet, it was replaced by an expression of pure awe.

“What is that?” she burst out laughing.

I tried to sound casual, not at all taken aback. “A courting helmet. I was skeptical about it at first too, but now that I’ve seen your outfit, it makes a lot more sense. Women’s fashion uses more expensive dyes. Without the helmet, we would be horribly mismatched.”

Even after my reasonable explanation, Chika was still laughing. “It makes you look like a …catboy with glitter in his hair. If only I had brought my own hat, we’d be just like a witch and her familiar.”

“Is that… a good thing?”

“Never mind. The way everyone’s looking at you, I think your cap might be out of fashion.”

Until now, the only people who had seen me with the helmet were older men: my father, the merchant who sold it to me, and Lord Thundrakar. Glancing around, I noticed other couples in the plaza, but none of them were wearing one. At the same time, none of the women were wearing robes as fine as Chika’s.

“They’re looking at you as well, and it’s not hard to see why. Your outfit really stands out.”

“You mean it looks good on me?”

“Very.”

“Ehehe, well, in that case, I don’t mind. Let’s stand out together. It’s the thought that counts, and I’m happy that you’re making an effort.”

An auspicious start to our day together, I thought at the time. Things quickly went downhill, however. Although we had great seats at the play, the playwright noticed us in attendance and decided to add moralizing scenes on the spot, chastising those who spurned the Goddess of Life by not eating the sacred fruit. Chika seemed to take it in stride, but after the first play, I offered to leave early if she was uncomfortable, and she eagerly accepted.

The food was not much better. When we arrived at the private storeroom, it became evident that this wasn’t quite what she had in mind. With a false smile plastered on her face, she sat at the table while my servants brought us food from the communal kitchen. It tasted bland, but not all that unpleasant.

After the servants left us alone, I took the opportunity to apologize. “I’m sorry. I can see now that this isn’t what you expected.”

“It’s… I appreciate that you tried. Like I said, it’s the thought that counts.” But as she spoke, her fake smile faded away.

“I mean it. I should have asked you directly instead of jumping to conclusions. I was just too embarrassed to admit that I don’t know how to court a woman.”

“No, really. I wanted you to come up with a date plan on your own. If you had asked me too many questions, it would be like I was doing all the work. The entire point was to get you to put in some effort. Let’s not worry about it. I don’t want to ruin the meal. Even if it’s not what I hoped for, a meal tastes better with good company.”

“Perhaps that’s why I found your curry so appetizing that day.”

“Maybe.” The false smile returned to her face, and we continued eating in silence for a while. When we were nearly finished, she put down her fork and heaved a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this. You tried, you really did, but it’s just not the same, and the differences are only reminding me of the life I can never return to.”

“In that case, why not tell me about Earth? If I learn more, perhaps—”

“No. Trying again would only cause us both more hardship. I need to accept that this is where I live now, where I’ll live for the rest of my life. Nalindra was right. Rather than trying to recreate the dates I missed out on, I should learn to act like a woman from this country.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Your unique perspective is a big part of your value. If you conformed yourself to our customs, you could not have accomplished as much as you have.”

“My value? Is that what you really care about, what you can get from me? Is that why you asked me to marry you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know why I asked. I was caught up in the moment, but is it really so wrong to value you? I can’t imagine marrying someone I didn’t hold in high esteem.”

She remained silent for several seconds before answering. “It depends on what you mean. Do you value me, or do you value what I can give you?”

“I’m not sure I understand the difference. Aren’t all human relations based upon gaining the most you can from the other person? Of course, I would want our marriage to be mutually beneficial.”

“Thanks for being honest, at least.” Standing, she grabbed my courting helmet by one point and, lifting it from my head, placed it down on the table. “It seems that we both had unrealistic expectations. I wanted an Earth-like romance, and you wanted a political transaction. I’m sorry to have put you through all this, but we’re both going home empty-handed today.”

I didn’t understand, and I think my confusion showed on my face, for Chika paused briefly before walking out of the storehouse.

At the time, I considered our first date a complete and utter failure, but little did I realize that it would set the foundation for a second, much more successful attempt.